We’re taking a look at—deep breath—NAGASAWA PenStyle-Den KobeINK物語 #8 Arima Amber! There was a time you had to buy this ink in Japan or get a courier service to have it mailed to you. But we live in an incredible time, don’t we?
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As pen enthusiasts, many of us are on a journey to find pens, inks, and paper that fit our writing styles and personal tastes. One of the things that I search out are Extra, Extra Fine Nibs. There are a lot of things I have learned in my search to find and acquire pens with these nibs. This article captures some of the things that I have experienced. What I want is a pen that writes a very, very fine line. Manufacturers and NibMeisters use different terms to describe the options available. So what terms should we use to describe this capability? Is it Extra, Extra Fine, or Needlepoint, or some other term? Manufactuers use different terms: Ultra Extra Fine for one Japanese company and Extra, Extra Fine for another. Some NibMeisters use Japanese Extra Fine/Needlepoint, and others use terms like Extra Extra Fine/Turk. There seems to be no consensus as to what to call this category of Extra, Extra Fine nibs. Because of this, I will will use the term, More Fine Than Extra Fine (MFTEF) in this article. Moving to Japanese Extra Fine A few years ago, when I found myself becoming part of the fountain pen community, […]
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By now you should have heard of the Wancher Dream Pen Kickstarter project. If you haven’t, it’s either because you have not been prowling around the fountain pen world enough, or haven’t been paying attention to my blog! 😉 I have recently posted about their Kickstarter project, and it is not often, if at all, that I post about a Kickstarter. The reason I decided to write about this Kickstarter is that I liked the way Wancher carried out their product development process, and the message they gave in their promotional video. I also felt that it was a great opportunity for you beloved readers out there to be able to obtain an urushi pen at a more affordable price tag. Lucky me, I have been contacted by Wancher to review their True Urushi fountain pen. What a privilege for me! They have sent me the black steel-nibbed version and I have been writing with it for a while. Read further for my breakdown of my thoughts of the pen. First Impressions I have never had an urushi pen before, so to be honest I had not known what really to expect. I had seen pictures of the pen when […]
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BENU began in January 2016 when Alex Semanin and Kate Dmitrieva started a new creative concept “to make writing instruments and desk accessories for those who prefer bright colors and new designs that are playful, stylish, and fun.” The name BENU comes from the Egyptian deity linked to the Sun, creation, and rebirth, and is a symbol of constant change, recurrence, and renovations. Their fountain pens, ballpoints, and rollerballs are all designed and handcrafted in their Moscow workshop, and all fountain pens come with a Schmidt nib in Fine, Medium, or Broad. I first heard about BENU pens last year from a few friends that had purchased the BENU Minima model in Classic Black with Skulls. They raved about the design and how it grabbed people’s attention every time they used them. When I saw that BENU was launching a new line of pens called Chameleon, I knew I had to get one to try out for myself. All the Chameleon pens have the same body design, but vary in colors and patterns. I reached out to BENU pens to learn more about the line, and Kate Dmitrieva agreed to send me a Benu Jolly Chameleon to review and test. […]
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Welcome to The Philadelphia Pen Show!!!!! The Annual Philadelphia Pen Show was held January 12th-14th at the Westin Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. This was my first year attending after hearing stories about how amazing it was. You could find everything from vintage pens to new, pencils, inks, papers, writing paraphernalia, classes, accessories, and the best find of all is the friendships and stories that you will take home with you. I want to bring you some of the sights from the show to help you feel like you were there. Arriving at the show… Upon arriving at the hotel, you could already feel the energy from the guests. Everywhere you looked, people were sharing their pen and ink collections, showing those amazing items they found at various seller tables, trading pens, and exchanging stories. There was a registration table to check in and a name tag station which Eric Orozco who was in charge of the show was helping at. The table across from the check in table was run by Pen World, offering subscriptions and giving out a free copy of Pen World. Entering the show… The main hallway had tables lining both walls with various vendors including: InkJournal, […]
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I love writing – the simple act of moving a pen over paper and seeing a line of ink appear. The process is magical and personal. I also love looking at other people’s handwriting. It’s a little piece of them, their energy and style. It doesn’t matter if it is the work of a calligraphy master or still looks like infant school print, it is that person’s own unique artistic expression. If you can put pen to paper and write, you are being creative! My own handwriting… I was super critical of my own handwriting until recently. Now I appreciate it and enjoy it. It makes me laugh that my daughter’s teachers at school commend it when my own teachers complained about it – my messy writing was always mentioned in my reports. In my mid-teens I suddenly got into pens and writing and upped my game. I haven’t stopped working on improving it since. Moving from ballpoint pens to fountain pens 15 years ago was, I suppose, a natural progression. It was around that time I started keeping a journal just as an excuse to write and use my fountain pens. So here are a few hints and tips […]
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Here’s a #noteworthyOFP post! There is a new and interesting Kickstarter up on the boards: the Wancher Dream Pen. Wancher Inc. is a company from Japan that specialises in writing products, since 1987. I have heard this name in the fountain pen world but have not really explored their pens, having been distracted by the big names of other Japanese pen makers. When Wancher approached me to share about their products, I got quite interested. They offered me an urushi pen to review and provide my comments. I was excited to review it, but as I received it quite recently, I wanted a little more time to try it out before officially putting up a review here. Hence, I offered to put up this feature post in support of their Kickstarter campaign. I offered to do so not because of the sponsorship – I would have done the same feature post without any sponsorship – it was because I like the way they are taking pen-making very seriously, and the way they call their Kickstarter the Dream Pen. So that’s my little disclaimer there. Moving on back to the main focus… When I said they are taking pen-making very seriously, […]
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I have never tried before any pens from Karas Pen Co, so when they contacted me to check my interest to review one of their pens, I definitely jumped at the opportunity! The pen they sent me is from their Signature range – a spring Decograph 1801 Special Edition no less, elegantly named Sleeping Beauty. While this pen was provided to me for free in exchange for a review on my blog, all opinions where applicable are my own. In Karas, all their items are designed and manufactured in Arizona, USA. So it is not a surprise that their Decograph 1801 was going to feature one of their landmarks. That landmark would be the the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Mine of Globe, Arizona. Initially, the name “Sleeping Beauty” calls to mind the Disney animation based on a classic fairytale, but upon reading the product sheet that came along with the pen, I realised it’s about the mine! That makes much more sense as I could not really think of how else the pen would be associated with Disney (laughing at myself now). Appearance and packaging When it comes to acrylic pens, I really love marbled or swirly designs, so when I […]
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I got my hands on two inks from Elixir Ink Company for review through Maybelline recently and couldn’t be more pleased. The Elixir Ink Company is from Singapore, and their inks are produced locally. Support local? Yes! The one I’m reviewing today is the River Safari ink. It’s always nice to try items that are locally made. I explored Elixir’s website and found out that the two inks I received were their limited Edition Inks specially made for Singapore Fountain Pen Lover’s (SFPL) 2017 Pen Show. Unfortunately, according to Elixir’s website, they’re currently out of stock. Anyone knows if they will be producing more stock? Performance The writing sample above is written on a Maruman Spiral notebook, and I had no problems with bleed-through and feathering. The ink is almost pH neutral at 7.5. It writes a little dry for me, but I’m pretty sure that it’s the nib. Others had provided feedback, saying the inks were a little on the wet side. Pros Their River Safari is a pretty, dark olive green with a little bit of shading. Olive Greens had never been a personal favourite, but i’ve grown to like them recently as […]
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